BradyBzLyn...Mo

HEY EVERYBODY, PAM HASN'T STARTED HER TRIP REPORT YET!!!
Hey - whatever it takes to get them off MY back.
Look Fiends... a shiny squirrel!

Great update, Dave. Glad you survived the downhill side without having to use the runaway truck ramp. I've seen trucks in those in the Rockies and believe there is not enough of Pam's wine to calm me down from that.
Everybody has to stop at at least one Cracker barrel, I think there is a rule about it.
We stop at Harvest Moon we call it (Heavenly Rest) on our way home from the Fort every time. The goal is always to just get through Atlanta in one piece.
I had more to say but I got distracted by

HEY EVERYBODY, PAM HASN'T STARTED HER TRIP REPORT YET!!!
Hey - whatever it takes to get them off MY back.
Look Fiends... a shiny squirrel!

The Beginning

January 16, 2008.

The dead of winter in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The sun rises around 10:00am and sets by 3:00pm. It is a cold and dark day. (How do I know this? They’re ALL cold and dark in Russia! But I digress.) A woman pregnant with her 9th child heads to the hospital to deliver. This in itself is remarkable, as she has aborted the previous 7 pregnancies. But despite prenatal testing indicating this child has Down Syndrome, she carries to term and delivers a baby girl. And, as occurs in 95% of Down Syndrome births in Russia, she abandons the baby to state custody. Another orphan among 700,000 in Russia.

The fact that she was born at all, after her birth mother’s history, is a miracle. Absent logical conclusions, we can only assume that God intended for that child to be ours from the very beginning. He only took a different path for her, maybe to illuminate the situation these children face over there. But regardless, on January 16, 2008, our daughter entered this world.

At two weeks of age, the little girl, named Anastasia Orlova, was sent to live at Baby Home #1on the outskirts of St Petersburg. She lived among several dozen orphans, many of them typically developing kids.



But little Anastasia, or Anna as we named her, wasn’t typical. She has Down Syndrome. And unfortunately, in her society, that makes her worthless. She has no chance of being adopted domestically. No Russian family ever visits or inquires about her. Even her birth mother, who lives in the neighborhood, never once calls to check on her. So she spends her first few years in the only home, and the only neighborhood, she would know up to that point, never venturing beyond the courtyard.





By the time she is 2, she has been identified by Reece’s Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry as an “at risk” child.



In the Russian orphanage system, children with DS that have not been adopted by age 4 are transferred to mental institutions. They are considered “unadoptable” at that point, and do not do well. Many don’t survive a year in that environment.

And so, it was through Reece’s Rainbow that we learned of Anna. Our future daughter…and future Fiend.

Prior to starting down the path to adoption, we had been visiting the Fort twice a year in our motorhome. And for the last couple trips, we had annual passes. We had a blast! But around the time of what would be our last trip in the MH, in March 2010, God presented a bit of a detour to us. He put the idea of special needs adoption in our hearts. And that process took most of our time (not to mention our money!) for the next 18 months. We sold our motorhome. I honestly wasn’t sure whether there would be any trips to the Fort in the future. But once we made our first trip to Russia and met Anna, I knew that kid was a future Fiend. We are blessed that she is a healthy and happy little girl. And so this past winter we bought a TT and I began planning this trip.

My little girl is a miracle! She is full of life! And throughout our long and difficult process of adopting her, you Fiends were there with us every step of the way. You provided moral support. You showered our older girls with love, cards and gifts when Christy and I had to travel for an extended period to Russia without them. And you have been family to us, sharing in our excitement. That is why, just 10 days after we returned home to the States with Anna, we traveled to Stone Mountain for the Fiend Grand Gathering over Memorial Day weekend. Some people thought we were nuts for traveling so soon. But we wanted to share our joy with our Fiend Family.






 
We had a great weekend at Stone Mountain! But despite all the fun we had, a true Fort Fiend like Anna needs to make the ultimate pilgrimage. A trip to the Fort itself. And so the planning continued, the final details were hammered out, and on the afternoon of November 15th, we pulled out of our driveway to complete the journey of our littlest Fiend.

You know I saw the first man to wear that shirt wearing that shirt on the first day of release for the first time.

Sorry to keep all of you in suspense!
Here is a photo of the front of the new men's t-shirt:

And the back:

And, as a free bonus, here's a photo of the very first man to purchase one of the new t-shirts:

There you go.
I have acquired many Fort Wilderness t-shirts over the years. This one is my favorite!
TCD

Well, my fine Fiends, it’s time for me to begin this trip report. The DaveInTN gang just got home from spending a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Fort. And what a great trip we had! 10 nights at our favorite place on the planet, beautiful Fort Wilderness. I’m excited to share with you all everything we did, everything we ate, and everyone we visited with. But a word of warning to y’all…we did not plan any park days on this trip. Our plan was to relax, spend time with Fiends, and bring our little Anna to the Fort for the first time. Oh, and to EAT. If you live for park pics, or if you don’t enjoy some good pood forn, this may not be the trip report for you. For those of you with nothing better to do, let’s get going.
But before we get rolling….it is my custom to present headlines in my trip reports; the highlights of our trip that I will build this report around. I also like to keep my readers interested due to the incredibly boring commentary that will unfold on this thread over the next couple of weeks. So, without further adieu, here we go!
In this report, you can expect to read:

The Beginning
Wetlanta
GAG Me With A Fry
I’m A Blessed Man
Now I Have TWO Princesses To Mock
Loop De Doo
Slap That Duck!
My Super Fast Dead Kenny Cart
Is That A Moose??
Ohhhh…..(wait for it)…..HANA!!!!
and, What Do Russia, Costa Rica and Wisconsin Have In Common??

So, where do we begin? At the beginning, of course! Only in this case, the beginning requires us to take a step back in time for a moment. We need to venture a few years into the past before we can make sense of the present. This was a special trip for me. And I'll explain all that in due course. But for now, let's start at the beginning....in the past.
So, if you’re ready, step into the Delorean, buckle up and let’s go! Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas. We’re about to hit 88mph!

I saw a video that said they put a white angel in with the blue ones to represent mr. osborne

It is a premium, drunk, unruly loop.

DO NOT RENT A GOLF CART
For that matter, never rent a camper either.
Last December we rented a camper to go to the Fort.
Now we own one.
In October we rented a golf cart from Kenny.
Now we own one.
It's a curse.
But a great curse!!!

I'm good like that!

This is an awesome site that lists ooodles and oodles of campgrounds with cool search features!
http://www.wecamphere.com/
Please help Lil Lisa and do a review!

This hippo looked as if it had a little too much sun!

You mean eat a "big bird"? :rofl2:

I just got back from the Meadows....the license plate bracket looks nice but is uber cheaply made. It's very thin flexible plastic with a back print. The magnet and license plate are cool tho

I am gonna buy one today and get a pic posted.

We recently ate at the California Grill. We had dined there previously and were rather disappointed in the experience. This time was much more pleasurable!
We waited to get a window seat.

Our server was Fantastic! I hate it, but for the life of me I can't remember her name right now. It's not a quiet restaurant, but it seemed quieter than when we dined here previously. They have an open kitchen, which contributes to the atmosphere.

Heirloom Apple Salad

Spicy Kazan Roll

Parsnip & Sunchoke Soup

Cast Iron Bison

Halibut & Shrimp Dumpling

Salmon

Crabstack, (this was the only real failure!)

Chocolate Lava Cake

Mango Goat Cheesecake

Heirloom Apple Bread Pudding
Overall impression: I enjoyed the experience. The food was much better and some parts were incredible. The only thing that was a real disappointment was the crab stack, it was inedible. The view of the fireworks from here is incredible.
I would not pay oop to eat all three courses here. It was great as part of the dining package! I would definitely return and have an appetizer and dessert!

My mom said to me, "every time I looked on Facebook you were posting photos of drinks!"
Me, "Mom, it's vacation and it's Disney and I didn't have to drive anywhere!"

My mom said to me, "every time I looked on Facebook you were posting photos of drinks!"
Me, "Mom, it's vacation and it's Disney and I didn't have to drive anywhere!"